How it grieves the heart of a mother, you everyone must know.
But we can't buy for our children, our wages are too low.
It is for our little children, that seems to us so dear,
But for us nor them, dear workers, the bosses do not care.
But understand, all workers, our union they do fear.
Let's stand together, workers, and have a union here.
From “A Mill Mother’s Lament,” a ballad by textile mill striker Ella Mae Wiggins (see Labor History below) and sung here by Pete Seeger.
But we can't buy for our children, our wages are too low.
It is for our little children, that seems to us so dear,
But for us nor them, dear workers, the bosses do not care.
But understand, all workers, our union they do fear.
Let's stand together, workers, and have a union here.
From “A Mill Mother’s Lament,” a ballad by textile mill striker Ella Mae Wiggins (see Labor History below) and sung here by Pete Seeger.